Ross resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His musical journey really began in 2005, while he was serving in the United States Coast Guard, stationed in Key West, Florida. He purchased his first guitar from a friend and co-worker, and quickly began learning a few chords. Eventually, he began writing his own music and lyrics. By 2009 he began working on his first album, “The Thrill”. His main influences include, but are not limited to: Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson, Louis Prima, Howlin’ Wolf, and Dean Martin. When he sets out to record his first album, his main goal was to try and re-capture the feel of the older recordings, so the all set up to record in a large hallway with high ceilings and that was that. They recorded the album live to analog tape with a minimal amount of microphones and the smallest amount of overdubs as possible. Currently he is doing a lot of songwriting and he is rehearsing with his backing band for upcoming live shows. As of right now, he is an unsigned, versatile Rock & Roll artist looking to get his name out there.

And so I’m sitting here with his cd in my car audioplayer. The first thing that impressed me is the studio’s acoustics. Pure and natural. You can almost hear a 3D sound, the drummer sitting in the back and the singer standing in front of you. It’s the base of the cd’s overall sound. Bloodshot Eyes is the opening song that immediately lifts you up. You can hear some Elvis in Ross’ voice in Only in my Dreams. Or even a young Billy Fury in Twilight Time (although Billy never sang that one).

The thing I like of this cd is that the sound is very open and clear. It reminds me of summer. The type of songs are all different but all played in the typical Ross Kleiner sound of this cd. A bit of Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Doo Wop. The title song The Thrill with it’s bongo rhythm really sticks in your head.

Four covers and four songs written by Ross Kleiner. Eight tracks, in my opinion a few more would be nice. But the good thing about that is, that I’m now curious about the rest of his repertoire and I’m waiting for more.